In a satellite network, the “return link” refers to the direction from a user terminal to a gateway via a satellite while the “forward link” refers to the direction from the gateway to the user terminal via the satellite. Return link power control in a mobile satellite system adjusts the user terminal's transmit power to achieve the target signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SIR) at the radio access network (RAN) (or gateway) receiver. The target SIR corresponds to the desired quality of service (QoS) or target signal quality.